For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 19, 2009

Once you ever find out, Phil, let us all know.

Sugar.

Phil does have patience…he can play with the children alot longer than I could. Elly does know how to handle the children…she is just letting brother dear learn on his own.

Pearland Peach

Elly isn’t perfect (thank goodness) but here she is right. The best way to learn is by doing, and Phil is definitely learning about kids: winding them up and calming them down. The “you got yourself into this situation, you get yourself out” is an excellent parenting strategy. For kids, it helps to give them a couple hints, but for the big kid in this strip, he can figure it out himself.

I agree with Pear&Peach on this one. “Let’s sit down together and read a book” always worked well in our house.

As kids, when we got like that, we were told to go outside and play in traffic, or stand outside and look for the purple van with the nice man who would offer us hockey cards.

this is all beside the point. as a father and an uncle, I can testify that the Uncles job ends with the wind-up.

Better to play games with Uncle Phil than to waste their lives away with video games….

It’s definitely partly due to sugar. How many parents give their kids some kind of sweet before bed?

“wound them up”,, “un-wind them”,, “makes them tick”… what are they a set of watches now? lol

Hey Phil, why don’t you yell “Time-out” at once and make them go bed right away. How does that work?

A little red wine should do the trick! :)

but not the EXPENSIVE plonk!

That’s some huge, Frito Bandito mustache he’s got hanging off his face. More like his face is hanging off the huge mustache.

Back then you could still unwind the kids with whiskey, without going to prison. That’s all I can imagine she can do now.

I wish my parents gave me whiskey!

Now we know why Ellie doesn’t play with the kids at night. She’s smart! Only a mom knows the tricks of the trade like that. Phil is typical. Okay, I’ve wound them up- take them away.

NOT!

Paul Jones - actually Phil and Gerogia wanted kids. However, they found out that they were unable to conceive, so instead they spend their time and money on music programs for inner city youths and vacations for themselves.

I agree with PearlandPeach and others – Elly would be seen as mean if she didn’t let the kids play with their uncle and she would be seen as controlling if she told Phil how to be an uncle and tell them to stop being so wild. Seriously, Joe-Allen I think you’re reaching for something to criticize today.

That was hilarious, discoEd :-)

Oh, I cannot wait for my brother to make me an uncle and I him. Then we’ll find out what makes our nieces/nephews tick.

Elly can’t ever do anything right – according to all the critics who read this.